This year, the Met's annual rooftop art exhibit features a mirrored structure by Tomás Saraceno. Before summer ends, climb around the installation's frame, or just take pictures from the outside. In Queens, the 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center fetes a ten-year anniversary with live painting by street art's best local talent.

The minute you step into Tomás Saraceno’s spectacular installation high above the Met, your perception of the world around you completely changes. Up becomes down and left becomes right in a very disorienting yet exhilarating way. Built with a stainless-steel frame, transparent acrylic floors and mirrored panels, the sculpture reflects the Central Park landscape, the roof terrace and the sky, offering the viewer a kaleidoscope of unique and unusual perspectives. As Sinatra belted out in “New York, New York,” Saraceno’s perched, roof-bound aerie makes you feel like you’re on the “top of the heap,” as the city’s skyline, the park and fragmented views of fellow visitors climbing around Cloud City merge, and this magical space station seems ready to float off at any moment. Cloud City will be up until November, but you’ll want to visit while the days are still long. • (212-535-7710, metmuseum.org). Suggested donation $25, seniors $17, students $12, members and children under 12 free.

The venerable institution of spray-painted art is celebrating a decade of existence, even with the constant pall of potential development draped over it. The people behind 5Pointz have put together the most ambitious season of free programming yet, culminating with the Battle of the Kings in Queens on Saturday 11 (noon–6pm), a live painting event during which street-art royalty will showcase their talent. • (5ptz.com). Mon–Fri by appointment only; Sat–Sun noon–7pm; free.

As home to Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I—purchased by the museum in 2006 for $135 million, then the highest price ever paid for a painting by any artist —it’s only fitting that the Neue Galerie planned an extravagant birthday exhibition party for the artist’s sesquicentennial. Since a fete like this wouldn’t be complete without the sweet stuff, arrive hungry and stop by the gallery’s Café Sabarsky after you tour the show. There’s only one thing you must order, and that’s the gilded chocolate-and-hazelnut Klimt cake, a sugar rush to complement the artist’s delirious style. • (212-628-6200, neuegalerie.org). Mon, Thu–Sun 11am–6pm. $20, seniors and students with ID $10. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult, children under 12 not admitted. First Friday of each month 6–8pm free.

After you’ve soaked up your weight in vitamin D upstairs, head back inside the Met to tour this fashion survey, pairing two iconic Italian designers: Elsa Schiaparelli, who died in 1973, and current fashion guru Miuccia Prada. “Waist Up/Waist Down,” “Ugly Chic” and “Surreal Body” are three aesthetic sections not to be missed, and the eight short films directed by Baz Luhrmann to accompany the gorgeous displays of more than 100 pieces of clothing and accessories only enhance the experience. It’s a fitting follow-up to last spring’s Alexander McQueen box-office bonanza. • (212-535-7710, metmuseum.org). Suggested donation $25, seniors $17, students $12, members and children under 12 free.

It was here at the Whitney in the 1960s that the Japanese legend first staked her claim on the art world with her dot paintings, nude outdoor happenings, suggestive, tendril-like “Accumulation” sculptures and mirrored “Infinity Room” environments. Kusama returned to her native Japan in 1973, where she’s resided since as a voluntary patient in a psychiatric hospital. Self-Obliteration, a self-portrait featuring the young artist standing amid a thicket of twigs and branches, is covered with green and red polka dots that are inspired by her hallucinations. Be sure to check out the Fireflies on the Water installation: The room features mirrored walls, 150 hanging lights and a pool of water; it feels as if you’re experiencing 360 degrees of seemingly endless space. • (212-570-3600, whitney.org). Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun 11am–6pm; Fri 1–9pm. $18; seniors, adults 19–25 and students $12; ages 18 and under free.